The Proposal (Prop) project requires you to design a formal proposal to seek funding for a project of professional significance to you. This project develops over 5 stages, including 4 segments that build toward a complete draft of the proposal. The Prop project is challenging because it requires you to think strategically about how a problem might be addressed and then craft persuasive arguments based on evidence most likely to influence the prospective funding agent.
Note. This is a complex project that progresses through multiple phases of development. This assignment description thus presents a lot of details. Consider printing it for use as a checklist, and so you can annotate it as you work your way through the project.
This project requires submissions for 4 draft stages and 1 final stage. All files are submitted to a Proposal folder in your shared course space on Dropbox.com.
Draft stages 1 through 4 accumulate the following documents and document segments:
The final submission includes all of the documents from the first 4 submission stages AND the following documents:
Note that for the final submission, the Proposal project folder will house 11 files. All but the feedback file (which I post as an RTF file) must be converted to PDF prior to submission. Note the details for naming files in the material below.
Document types: memo, proposal
Document scope: 150 words (memo), 2000 to 3000 words, plus appendices (proposal)
Project value: 600 points (50 for each draft stage; 400 for final)
Evaluation rubric: _Eval_Proposal.pdf
The Proposal (Prop) project asks you to produce a formal proposal. You may work independently or in a team with up to 3 other collaborators. Your proposal must frame a problem, propose a solution to that problem, discuss how the project would be assessed and sustained, and request appropriate support from a funding organization. You may respond to a formal request for proposals that has been issued by a funding agent if you choose, but that is not a specific requirement for this assignment.
To develop a complete understanding of the project and the processes involved in it, review this project description in its entirety before you begin, and take advantage of the supporting materials that are available through SVSU Canvas.
What does it mean to select a professionally significant problem as your focus for this project? Let's begin with advice from Winning Grants. Narrow your focus:
Steer clear of problems such as world hunger, global climate change, poverty, and the like. But do consider how you might work to address these or similar problems in whatever way they manifest locally. If you are not already in a position to represent a charitable/community organization, or if you choose to work alone on the Proposal project, then you very definitely need to focus on a problem that you can impact personally.
Some of you have professional aspirations for working toward resolving community problems. Your work may emphasize problems from a variety of professional/disciplinary perspectives. Only you can begin that conversation here. That is, this is an opportunity for you to focus on a problem with a community connection AND a professional perspective. Consider what kinds of problems your profession/professional community focuses on, and whether or not there is an emphasis there that might suit this project.
Note. Remember that you may work on this project in collaboration with one or more classmates. Project teams may have up to 4 total members. Use the Canvas fora connected to relevant discussions to identify prospective collaborators.
This is a complex project that evolves in stages over a significant portion of the semester. Each of the stages requires analytical / interpretive / evaluative work, and results in the creation of a specific segment of the proposal's content: Problem Statement + Goals & Objectives (stage 1), Problem-Solving Strategies (stage 2), Project Evaluation + Program Sustainability (stage 3), and finally the Budget + all other proposal content that makes up a complete project draft (stage 4). The details for the report contents follow in the next section.
Your complete Proposal must provide the following content and design elements. Note that some of the details listed here represent sections of the document (e.g., problem statement), and others (citations, visual representations) instead indicate content that might be distributed throughout the document. Still other elements focus on design.
Hint. The title page for this proposal should not exceed 1 page, and should not be numbered.
Hint. A good abstract communicates the abbreviated-but-complete details from the document it summarizes. Write this element last. Note that the abstract and the overview serve different purposes. Be sure to include both content elements.
Hint. An overview is not the same as an executive summary. The executive summary distills the document. An overview introduces a document. I always suggest that you write this part after you have completed the document you need to introduce. That way, you know what you have said, and what you need to introduce to readers.
Hint. Emphasize the details that are essential to understanding the problem and its impact. The problem statement should be supported with evidence. Provide the kind of evidence that you think would help readers understand that the problem exists and how it affects the community and the people who are directly impacted.
Hint. It is best to define straightforward, easily understood goals and objectives. Winning Grants states the relationship between these project elements this way: "goals are what the program aspires to achieve, and objectives 'should clarify what changes you expect to see as a result of your work.' Don't confuse the organization's mission, which is its ongoing reason for existence, with the organization's goals, which are more narrowly focused on an organization's programs and projects, and which might change from year to year." Also, don't confuse objectives with strategies (see the next section).
Hint. Detail is essential here. This is likely to be the most detailed segment of your whole proposal. It is important that you explain carefully what is involved in each project activity, how it ties back to the goals & objectives, what resources are required to complete each activity, who is served by each, and which project personnel will be involved for each.
Hint. Define whether you will use quantitative data (e.g., things you can measure or count), qualitative data (e.g., things you observe or things people tell you), or a combination of these things. You must identify one or more ways of evaluating each objective. Some objectives might be best served through multiple evaluation processes.
Hint. As always, detail is essential here. Prospective funding organizations want to know that their funds will be used wisely and that they will not go to an organization that cannot sustain itself.
Hint. Budgets can make or break a project. First-time grant-seekers often underestimate the funds they need, or overestimate the commitment of donor organizations. Accurate numbers for needs and their associated costs are an absolute must. Organizations are more likely to fund a project for an organization that has some of its own resources to commit. Invest time and careful thought into this section of your proposal.
Hint. Citation is a process for demonstrating how and when you draw on professionally relevant resources during your assessment process. This may include published articles and books, vendor websites, sales websites, and more. Cite the heuristic standard you implement. Cite every image that you borrow. (You need not cite original images that you created.) This process is an essential element of your professional respect and responsibility.
Hint. Appendices are useful for integrating details relevant to the project/proposal, but that might be too long to include in the main document without disrupting the readers' movement through it.
Hint. Whenever possible, use images that you capture or create. Do not rely on images from other sources unless you must. All images, tables and so on must be identified by figure/table numbers and titles. Use these identifiers to direct readers to their location in the document.
Hint. I provide design samples and explanations to help you understand how to create professional, usable documents. Draw on that supporting content as you work. Do not use the sample documents as templates, but do note the patterns that shape content in them. Note the way other documents you interact with present information. What strategies feel most professional to you? Learn from and emulate those strategies in your own work.
Learn from the Winning Grants text. It is a valuable resource. Each section of the proposal outlined here is discussed in detail in the text. Review the relevant content as you prepare for each stage of the proposal.
A memo of transmittal introduces the document it accompanies, providing context for its audience(s). You will craft such a memo for the draft and final submissions of the DA project. Both memos should be addressed from you to me.
Your draft memo should incorporate the following content and design elements.
Consult the Winning Grants and any sample documents I provide (see SVSU Canvas Files: Project Support) for additional guidance.
Your final memo should incorporate the following content and design elements.
Again, consult the Winning Grants and any sample documents I provide (see SVSU Canvas Files: Project Support) for additional guidance.
Recommended tool(s): Microsoft Word, scanning app/device, digital camera, digital video camera
This section offers guidance for how to interpret the project and how to proceed with your work on it. Consider the following strategies.
To engage credibly with any problem, you must understand it thoroughly. That means careful study, of course. But it also means that experience and expertise help immensely to establish relevant authority and credibility. We have already considered what this means, but the concept is essential to your success.
Students sometimes struggle on the front end with how to approach this project. Specifically, they are not sure how to define an appropriate problem, or even what problems they might recognize that can be addressed effectively in the assignment. When in doubt, feel free to consult with me.
Past students have addressed a wide variety of problems with this and similar assignments. I list a few of the projects students have used to focus their work in past classes.
This list is not exhaustive, but may offer some idea of the kind of problem students have found workable in the past. It is important not to work toward solving something too complex (e.g., poverty, hunger, child abuse), or too simple (e.g., minor product defect, a single event that resulted in a dissatisfied customer). Again, if you have questions about the propriety of your idea(s), talk to me.
Do not rush through the preparatory work for any stage, or rush through the development of proposal content during any stage of the project. Think, explore, discuss with others, and investigate deeply.
Draw on your experience with charitable works, if you have any. Prior engagement as a contributor/supporter of other projects is valuable experience for proposing action yourself.
The calendar sets a schedule for staying on pace to help you organize the time you invest in the core proposal project. Keep in mind that every project stage builds on what has come before. Thus if you allow yourself to fall behind, it will impact your ability to catch up. Although there are gaps in the schedule that offer you opportunities to catch up, history suggests that it is best to keep the pace.
This section is designed to help you be strategic in the development of your project documents. Consider the following hints and tips.
Use data and detail that you gather to construct careful arguments about the project elements. Keep in mind that everything you present is an argument. Audience members may only have your claims, observations and interpretations to rely on for understanding the problem or your proposed solutions. Readers need your explanations to understand your arguments.
The content of your proposal should progress from section to section, with each segment building on and referencing the previous discussion(s). That means you cannot present details out of order.
Remember that communication in professional and technical contexts values highly the ability to write and speak with economy, directness, and professionalism. Another way of saying this is to make every word count. Stay focused on the details necessary to understand your project. Write and rewrite until your explanations make sense, and represent careful, professional communication.
Be as specific and concrete as you can throughout your discussion. The more details you incorporate into your proposal, the more observant you appear to be. That helps establish and maintain your credibility and authority. However, it is also important to focus on the details that truly matter for understanding and interpreting the problem and your proposed solutions.
Images focus readers. Images help humanize and make more tangible problems that otherwise might feel abstract or distant for readers. Be careful not to overdue the emotional impact of images, but neither should you avoid creating an emotional connection.
Details and data is important to this work. Present data in ways that make sense based on the kind of data you integrate into your discussion, and based on what will make that content most easily processed by readers. Thus use graphs, or tables, or charts as is most appropriate to the data. Think carefully about how to most effectively present and explain every detail you provide.
Observe what makes design in general, and proposals in particular, effective and authentic. Incorporate those observations into the construction of your documents. Edit carefully, seeking to express your ideas clearly and concisely. Edit out loud with the intent of writing in such a manner that your sentences sound professional and focused. Strive for high levels of professionalism and consistency in your work. Refine your documents continuously throughout the stages of development.
Research proposals as a genre. You have ample tools and resources for doing so, including the course text and the supplemental materials I post for class. Develop a design that supports your content effectively, and that establishes a strong professional ethos.
I have provided a lot of supporting material to guide you during this project. The Winning Grants text is a rich resource as well. Take the time to review it all, and consider how you might apply that knowledge to your work.
As the semester progresses, you will continue to add to and refine your proposal. Because your final submission must include each of the drafts that you complete along the way, I recommend that you establish a pattern for working with your files. Specifically, I recommend that you begin with a file called Stage1. When you complete that project segment, duplicate the file and rename the copy Stage2. Use that new file to continue your work. When you complete that project stage, duplicate the file and rename the copy Stage3, and so on.
The revisions and refinements you make during the developmental stages of this project may help you understand your design process, and therefore your professional development, in more-sophisticated ways. Archive your stages/drafts of projects throughout your coursework, so you are able to examine your growth and maturation.
Read and attend carefully to these submission guidelines. Failure to do so may result in delays in receiving feedback on the draft of your project, or in points lost on the evaluations of your draft and final submissions.
Create a project folder inside your shared class folder on Dropbox.com. Remember, I can only view files that you place inside that shared folder. Until you place files in that space, you have not submitted them.
Name the folder Proposal.
Note. Do not share this folder with me. By placing it in your class folder, you have already shared it by default.
Each of the 4 draft-stage submissions requires you to add to your project folder. Model your filenames on the examples listed here. For your first submission stage, you only need one file in the project folder:
As each stage comes due, you will add to that folder. By the time you submit the Design Assessment (see the Calendar for the submission date), the following files should all be available to me:
Note. Do not share the individual files with me. By placing them in your project folder, you have already shared them by default.
When you assemble your final submission for the DA project, there will be 11 files in the folder. Again, model your filenames on the examples listed here.
Note. Remember, do not share the individual files with me. By placing them in your project folder, you have already shared them by default.
Additional Note. You should include a Peer Review form for each reviewer who responded to your proposal draft. Replace the word Reviewer with the last name of each reviewer on the form you receive back from them.
Additional Note. The Feedback file is the one you receive from me in response to your draft submission. Move it into your project folder when you assemble your final submission.
Take the time to organize your work as directed here, and to name each file properly. This helps me keep track of your work, and makes clear which files are meant to represent the on-going and final stages of project development.
This section describes the standards by which your draft and final submissions will be evaluated.
There are 50 possible points for each draft stage in the development of this project. You will earn points according to the following standard.
There are 400 possible points for the final project. You will earn points according to the standard described on the policies page (40% content development, 20% design execution, and 20% professionalism & attention to detail, and 20% impact of revision; see Policies). The specific areas of emphasis for this project are drawn from the description and in-class discussion of the project (including the supporting teaching materials that I provide to you), and are detailed in the evaluation rubric (_Eval_Proposal.pdf).
Remember that I will only post the point values for projects on the Grades page in SVSU Canvas. I will post the details relevant to that evaluation in your class folder in a project-specific file.
If you are here because of random chance, or because this content came up in a search, then poke about, and read if you see something useful or interesting. If you are a teacher in any context and would like to use any of this content in your courses, feel free to do so. However, if you borrow this material, please do two things: